Justice Geoffrey Kamyal of Plateau State High Court 10 on Tuesday fixed Oct. 21 for judgment in the candidature of All Progressive Congress (APC) in the State’s Oct. 9 Local government elections.
Mr Mallo Best, an APC aspirant through his Counsel, Mr Munir Abdullahi, filed a case before the court contesting the outcome of an alleged primaries held in Bokkos Local Government Area on June 23.
Best, in an originating Summon, told the court that APC allegedly goofed when it announced Mr Joseph Guluwa as its candidate for the Oct. 9 Council polls in Bokkos LGA.
Joint in the suit are Plateau State Independent Electoral Commission (PLASIEC) as 2nd and 3rd respondents in the case, which APC failed to respond, the News Agency of Nigeria reports in His.
“My Lord, you can see that the 1st Respondent, APC has not even bother to appear in the matter as a sign of admission that what it on June 23 was completely wrong.
“How they arrived at Guluwa as the party’s candidate for the Bokkos LGA for the LG Polls was fraudulent and in breach of the party’s Constitution and PLASIEC guidelines for 2021 LG polls.
“”We hereby urge your lordship to order APC to conduct the expected primaries in Bokkos to determine its candidate amongst the teaming aspirants in the council.
“We are also asking the court to stop PLASIEC and the State government from conducting election in Bokkos on Oct 9 untill the determination of this case as wall as to save wastage of public funds, ” he pleaded.
In response, PLASIEC and Guluwa, through their counsel, Mr Nantok Dashur, told the court to dismiss the case for lack diligent prosecution alleging that it was “an exercise in futility.
“Best contradicted himself in his affidavit and further and better affidavits by denying and owning up that there was an election on June 23.”
“From Best’s submission, his problem with the election which he took part in was that the results were declared somewhere else and that the choice of Joseph Guluwas was his contention,
“My Lord, we urge you to discard their aguments and dismiss the case for lack of diligent prosecution and allow the election to hold in Bokkos LGA along with others,” Dashur pleaded.
After listening to the parties, Justice Kamyal fixed Oct. 21 for judgment.(NAN)
